Dreams of Tiaras and PomPoms
by peut-etre-poulet
Summary: SPOILERS up to Born This Way - Quinn vs Kurt - Now that Quinn has returned to the Cheerios Kurt is put through his paces as they both work to impress Coach Sylvester.


**Title::..**Dreams of Tiaras and Pom-Poms  
><strong>Spoilers::..<strong>_Born This Way_  
><strong>Rating::..<strong>M for adult situations  
><strong>Genre::..<strong>Drama  
><strong>Characters::..<strong>Kurt, Quinn, Mercedes, Coach Sylvester, Santana, Brittany and Lauren  
><strong>Pairing::..<strong>Mostly Kurcedes, but there are mentions to Britana and a Quick scene  
><strong>Author's Note::..<strong>I wrote this to fit my need for more Kurt and Quinn action, they are my two favourite characters, I think both Dianna Agron and Chris Colfer are heaven on Earth and they need to become besties in the show. I also felt there needed to be an explanation for why Kurt left the Cheerios. I've written many Quinn fics but this is the first time I've ever made a mention to the whole Lucy Caboosey debacle. I think I've been afraid to write it because I don't think I could sum it up quickly and instead would dedicate a whole story to trying to figure out my feelings on the subject, so hopefully it doesn't take up too much in this fic and you can still enjoy the rest of the storyline.  
>Kurt comparing his relationship with Mercedes to that of Columbia and Magenta from <em>The Rocky Horror Picture Show<em>, as in they are the same person, this is fact. I listened to the audio commentary with the creator of _Rocky Horror_ Richard O'Brien and he said that the character of Columbia never existed until the movie; he split Magenta into two beings and thus was the birth of Columbia. So yeah, I'm just showing off my nerdiness :D And forgive me for the _Carrie_-style prank Quinn plays on Kurt, it's my favourite book, I can't help being inspired by it.  
>This is my first time writing for the character of Lauren Zizes so I hope I've done her awesomeness justice. After meeting Ashley Fink at the Sydney <em>Glee<em> convention and discovering that yes, she is indeed that funny and awesome and sassy in real life I've become a Lauren fan and therefore couldn't resist adding her. I had to mention how many clubs Lauren is a part of because Ashley joked about this at the convention, saying how she has no idea how Lauren would have time to study in between Wrestling, AV, Old Maids and the Glee Club.  
><strong>Summary::..<strong>Now that Quinn has returned to the Cheerios Kurt is put through his paces as they both work to impress Coach Sylvester.

* * *

><p>Kurt Hummel would never forget the day when he first saw Quinn Fabray. He had been sitting in the first row of Math class (because he simply wasn't cool enough to sit anywhere near the back, and so every day he served as target practise for the jocks every time the teacher turned his back) and she had come floating in – all perfect blonde curls and subtly applied make-up. The class had instantly stopped their chattering, everyone falling silent to admire the stranger. Even Kurt had found himself slightly breathless in the presence of such an unbelievably beautiful girl. Surely she couldn't be real; she belonged on the pages of <em>Vogue<em>magazine, not in the halls of McKinley High.

No one ever sat next to Kurt and so he was the only one with an available seat next to him for the new girl to sit in. With pink cheeks she moved to sit alongside him. She smelt incredible and she moved with elegance as she pulled her books out of her bag. The teacher introduced her to the class as Quinn Fabray; she had just transferred in. The teacher returned to the lesson with Quinn listening attentively.

After this it didn't take long for the stunned silence to dispel. Quinn had perfect posture and she wrote in the most ridiculously girly cursive Kurt had ever seen. She barely lifted her pen off of the page; she concentrated carefully with lines of focus marking her forehead. A few times the jocks lined up in the back row called out to her and she would turn. With a shy smile she waggled her fingers at them, showcasing all of the poise of a prom queen in waiting.

For the hour-long lesson Quinn didn't breathe a single word to Kurt. Then the end of lesson bell sounded and all of the jocks rushed to be the first to talk to her. She giggled flirtatiously and answered their questions while still maintaining an air of mystery. They flocked away with her in tow and that was the last time Quinn Fabray sat next to Kurt in Math class.

He observed her from afar, watching how seamlessly she fit in with the mainstream crowd. All at once she was popular, obtaining the illusive thing he had spent his whole life chasing after to no avail. She walked with confidence with an entourage of admirers following no matter where she went.

A Cheerio uniform solidifying her position as a part of McKinley High Royalty appeared barely a week after her transfer. Every morning she poured her toned body into the bright uniform and strutted down the hallway turning the head of every person she passed. Soon she had the football quarterback on her arm.

Kurt watched her walk past and his heart ached. Her life was perfect, he knew it, she knew it, everyone knew it. He looked at her and saw all of the things he would never have. All of the things society said he couldn't have, from the golden crucifix she always flaunted around her neck to the adoring (but very clichéd) boyfriend. He knew he could never have her life, but that didn't stop him from longing.

After time he accepted that he would never be popular and his life would never be as simple as Quinn Fabray's. This acceptance led to him doing the only natural thing – he rebelled completely against the social constraints of McKinley High. He stopped trying to sink into the crowd and wore the clothes he wanted to. He forgot about popularity and wore the clothes that made him happy. He was lucky enough to find friends through harnessing his individuality and soon school became somewhat manageable.

When he heard about Quinn's pregnancy he ate up every last detail like a famished street dog. It made him giddy to hear such a thing. It was an awful thing to find joy from, but it was a nice reminder that he wasn't the only one with a messed up life. Not even Quinn Fabray could have a perfect life; she was only human, just like the rest of them.

* * *

><p>Kurt and Mercedes had always loved attention. He felt that one of the reasons why their friendship had blossomed was because not only did she accept him for his fame-whoring ways she understood it. Mercedes was just a big diva as he was and he needed her on his side – facing her in a throwdown would result in him losing a limb. They got along so perfectly because they were practically the same person: just like Columbia and Magenta from <em>The Rocky Horror Picture Show<em>. They discussed the inequalities of Mr Schuester's constant favouring of Rachel in Glee Club. They had an agreement that if one were to beat out the other for a solo they wouldn't be offended. They understood how important solos were and in the process of gaining a solo people had to be stepped on. They would not take it personally if the other trampled them for a chance at the spotlight. The world of show business could be a cruel one and they loved each other enough in between to make up for any nastiness.

The need for attention was what drove them to join the Cheerios. They were being ignored in Glee Club and they were desperate to get back to the limelight. No one in the Cheerios knew they could sing and this meant there would be no competition. Cheerios was their chance to have The Kurt and Mercedes Show without having to worry about Rachel stepping all over their toes.

Kurt had only joined Cheerios because Mercedes had said she would. It was supposed to be a fun thing for them to do together. He had felt at home almost instantly. He liked the pressure. He didn't mind the bitchiness of the other girls; he could easily trump any of their remarks using minimal brain capacity.

It didn't take Mercedes long to stop enjoying herself. At first she thought it was an amazing opportunity and took it as a lot of fun. Soon after she began to clash with Coach Sylvester and then her interest slipped. She missed a couple of practises and she stopped wanting to go over routines with him.

He wasn't entirely surprised when she dropped out of the squad. What surprised him was that he stayed there after her departure. He didn't think of quitting, not even for a fraction of a second. He told her he was sorry to see her go and that he would miss her in practise, but in truth he never thought about it.

Being a Cheerio made school so much easier. Coach Sylvester made him work hard but he was reaping all off the rewards. The muscle pains were worth it. He put on the bold-coloured uniform and felt invincible. He walked down the halls feeling completely safe from Slushie Facials or mocking. He was superhuman and he didn't want to give the feeling up for anything.

* * *

><p>It killed Quinn to hear Kurt talking about his win as a part of the Cheerios at Nationals. She had been looking forward to Nationals all year, before the pregnancy she had thought about nothing but winning Nationals during every practise. She had visualized lifting the trophy up with a beaming Coach Sylvester. She had been determined to make Coach Sylvester proud and to make her mark as a William McKinley Cheerio. In her eyes leading the Cheerios to victory was another step in the process of leaving Lucy Caboosey behind forever.<p>

Then it all slipped through her fingers. Cheerios had been everything to her; she had been so desperate to gain all of the glory back. After the fiasco of picture day she had decided she didn't need the squad. She had returned the uniform to the main office and had changed her profile picture on FaceBook away from a photo of her in the uniform alongside Santana and Brittany. She had stopped sitting with the Cheerios and accepted her fate as a close-to invisible member of the student body.

Despite her rudeness to them Mercedes and Kurt took her under their wing. One day Mercedes was approaching Quinn in the library and the next thing she knew they were accompanying her on long shopping trips. They posed for a lot of photos to litter FaceBook with and exchanged CDs. They sat in the back of Glee Club and shared inside jokes, giggling behind their hands whenever Rachel turned to glare at them for not concentrating as purely as her.

Quinn watched the way Kurt walked around in his Cheerios uniform. It wasn't hard to notice the difference in his strut, with his shoulders pushed back to proudly display the school emblem as he held his head high. She looked at him and felt nostalgic of the days when she had worn the Cheerios uniform as a shield against all of the bad feelings in the world.

He made it impossible for her to forget about Cheerios. Looking at him in his uniform she remembered the pride and the instant acceptance no matter where she went. He respected her experience and asked her for help on how to become the best Cheerio possible.

She was happy to give him advice. But the more she helped him with his cartwheels the more she missed being a Cheerio. It didn't take long for her to view him as a faceless figure holding down a position she had loved so dearly, instead of seeing him as one of the best friends she had ever had.

She had always considered returning to the squad after Beth's birth. It wasn't until she saw how well Kurt was doing that she gained the motivated to return. Watching Kurt's progress made her realize how badly she wanted Cheerios back in her life, how badly she needed the structure and stability.

She watched him win Nationals and the fire of lust was lit within her. She couldn't deny the pull of competition; she needed it in her life. The birth of Beth fell right at the end of the semester; this allowed her to spend summer vacation getting back into shape. She reclaimed control of her body and regained her warrior queen attitude.

On the first day back at school she made a beeline for the Cheerio sign-up sheet. All of the other girls fell away, gasping in awe as they realized why she was here. She avoided standing in line for three days; apparently her reputation had not fled her completely. She scribbled her name and left within four seconds. She could practically feel the fear of the other wannabe Cheerios as she walked away.

The line for the try-outs was huge. Quinn was standing behind a freshman she had never seen before. She was working to keep her breathing even. She had rehearsed-and-rehearsed the speech she was going to give Coach Sylvester. She was certain it would work, but it had been so long since she had faced Coach Sylvester that there were nerves fluttering around in her stomach.

Kurt came walking past with the other Cheerios on their way out from practise. His initial response was one of surprise. Then his features clouded in undeniable worry and panic. His smile was tight on his smooth face as he broke away from the group to approach her. "Quinn, what're you doing here?"

"I'm getting back on the Cheerios." She informed him.

His face became even more masklike. "Oh. Good luck."

"Thanks." She responded. "But I don't really need luck."

He forced out a chuckle. "No, I suppose not." He left without a further word, his cheeks pinker than usual. As she stood in the slow-moving line she realized she had just seen the first crack in his armour.

* * *

><p>Mercedes saw the shift in Kurt and Quinn's friendship instantly. She didn't find it surprising; Kurt had always been viciously competitive. As soon as Quinn had told Mercedes she was trying out for the Cheerios Mercedes had prepared herself for the end of the Glamour Twins.<p>

Quinn and Kurt usually sat side-by-side, comparing notes about the colours of the new season. Then Quinn returned to the Cheerios and they decided they had to sit on opposite sides of the table. They hardly spoke, but when they did converse it was so tense that Mercedes much preferred the silence.

There was no way to talk Kurt out of the competitive mindset he was in. He was competitive to the point where it was dangerous. Mercedes hadn't known Quinn for very long and therefore didn't feel comfortable in telling the blonde to cool her jets. One of the reasons she had left the Cheerios was because of how unnecessarily competitive it all was. Now she was stuck in the middle of a feud between her best friends. She considered this as a sign that she needed new friends.

* * *

><p>Kurt and Santana had risen to top ranks in Quinn's absence. Someone had been required to step up as Head Cheerio but Coach Sylvester had been unable to pick between her long standing minion and Kurt's enthusiasm. She had named them both co-Captains and pitted them against each other at every possible opportunity. Kurt had a sneaking suspicion that she was waiting for one to kill the other and make the decision of who should be Head Cheerio for her.<p>

Santana had always been civil to him. After using all of her gay jokes up at Glee he arrived to Cheerios to find the Latina wasn't as cold and robotic as she wanted everyone to believe. She sweated through training just like the rest of them and there were times when he had seen her face scrunched up unattractively against the pain of an intense cramp.

There were moments when she was simply a vulnerable girl. These moments happened a lot when Brittany was around. Santana kept her eyes on the blonde whenever they were in the same room. Brittany made herself an easy target for mockery and Coach Sylvester often took advantage of this, while the other Cheerios snickered Santana would set her jaw, a fire burning in her eyes. They sometimes stood in a corner, their heads bowed together and Santana would put her hand on Brittany's arm in a way so tender it made Kurt think their relationship was much more than typical best buds.

But she didn't let people see this vulnerable side if she could help it. She was a ruthless competitor. This made her the perfect co-Captain for Kurt. He loved being beside her in training, she always spurred him on. They played Chicken, dancing and twirling as hard as they could, constantly trying to out-shine each other. Neither wanted to surrender. They ended every practise completely exhausted, leaving Coach Sylvester very impressed.

Their all-encompassing competition had been working for them. Then Quinn had returned and thrown everything out of whack. Santana's ridiculous boob-job and Kurt's wavering interest hadn't helped the situation. Quinn re-joining had been the final nail in the coffin. Her first practise back Coach Sylvester had called her over to talk about something. As Brittany pushed her foot into his shoulder Kurt watched the discussion carefully. Coach Sylvester was wearing a pleasant expression and Quinn was nodding enthusiastically to everything she said.

Santana had sashayed over to where Kurt and Brittany were stretching. She trailed her fingertips delicately across Brittany's shoulder and when she spoke her voice was dark with lust. "Hey Brit-Brit, help me warm up?"

Kurt barely took his eyes off of Quinn and Coach Sylvester as he moved to do sit-ups alongside Santana. He should have been counting his sit-ups but he couldn't concentrate. "What do you think that's about?"

Santana glanced over and laughed hollowly. "I don't know, but it can't be good." She resumed sit-ups instantly, seemingly unaffected.

Kurt thought this was no big surprise to her. She had been outshined by Quinn before; she had probably been expecting it. But he could not take this lying down. He had completely zoned out, unaware of anything in the room other than Coach Sylvester and Quinn. Then Brittany leant in to his path to see if she could get his attention and his head collided with hers. This resulted in her falling onto her back with laughter while Kurt could not be brought out of his daze of worry.

Coach Sylvester blew her whistle and they all snapped to attention. "Formation! Q, I assume you haven't forgotten your way to the top of the pyramid."

"What?" Kurt hissed as the oval became alive with motion. "That's my spot! I've been practising for months."

"Oh Bambi." Santana said, feigning sympathy. "_Please_tell me you're not surprised. Quinn is the prodigal daughter, she has always been Coach Sylvester's favourite and she will always be Coach Sylvester's favourite. She reminds Coach Sylvester of herself, the daughter she never had or some messed up shit like that."

"That's not fair." Kurt complained, adding a stomping of his foot for extra dramatics.

Santana shrugged. "Yeah well life is like me, it's a bitch."

A brilliant idea had occurred to Kurt and he couldn't resist a smile. "There's one more thing that shares that trait: payback."

* * *

><p>None of the girls minded having Kurt in their locker room. He had been invited in more than once to be grilled about skincare products. After Mercedes' departure he had been forced to make friends with the other Cheerios. They had accepted him as their better and allowed him into the secret world of cheerleading.<p>

They viewed him as something of a supportive sister. They knew he was a nice guy and saw nothing but politeness when he helped them with lifts. As far as any of them were concerned he was the nicest guy they had ever met. Therefore no one suspected malicious behaviour when he walked into the locker room before practise. They all greeted him, none stopping to question his presence.

As he had suspected Quinn was taking a shower, she had gotten terribly sweaty from a whole lunch break dedicated to Glee practise. He found her shoes and socks lying neatly outside her locker. With no other Cheerios in sight he extracted the pouch filled with itching powder from his pocket and got to work distributing it throughout her socks. Completely unnoticed by the others girls he slipped away from the lockers, going to stand alongside them at the mirror. Brushes were raked repeatedly through their hair, hundreds of clips secured into place and clouds of hairspray exploded every handful of seconds. He smiled as he inspected his reflection, '_the perfect crime_' he marvelled.

This was the first time he had ever used itching powder. Growing up as an only child he'd never had anyone to play pranks on. He had heard about itching powder on television but he hadn't known how well it would work. He had purchased the pouch from the joke shop and had prayed it would prove itself to be useful.

Quinn had slipped on her socks and shoes, then trotted out to training with the rest of them. When she had warmed up with him, Santana and Brittany the only signs she had shown of discomfort had been weird fidgeting. Her fingers had dived into her socks a couple of times, but she had said nothing.

During the whole practise she had been unable to stand still. She scrunched her face up unhappily and shifted around in her shoes. When the spotlight was off of her she raised her foot off the ground to scratch, but this was always short-lived. She couldn't get any relief and this began to show on her face.

The irritation grew worse as the training session progressed. Soon her legs were twitching and not a moment passed where her usually beautiful face wasn't marked by creases of annoyance. Lance lifted her up onto his shoulders in a simple move that helped her to end the routine higher than her peers. Kurt had seen her do the trick at least a million times and every time she completed it with compose. He was beginning to think the itching powder had been a waste of money. Sure, it had made her uncomfortable but it hadn't affected her performance and it hadn't put any doubts in Coach Sylvester's mind regarding her decision to reinstate Quinn as Head Cheerio.

Then, as Kurt was giving up all hope, she slipped from Lance's shoulders and landed on the grass. Usually she could perform the trick without any troubles. All she had to do was lock her knees in place and she was fine to stay on steady Lance's shoulders for upwards of five minutes. But because of the persistent itching she had been unable to lock her knees into place. She had begun to wobble and as Kurt watched she had tumbled toward the ground.

Always the fearless warrior Quinn had not made one sound of pain upon colliding with the ground. The only sounds had been the solid thud as she landed and then the horrified gasps of the other Cheerios. She didn't let out so much as a whimper. A moment later she pulled herself off of the ground and her jaw was set in determination.

She wanted to continue, but Coach Sylvester (for all her cruel comments and ridiculously gruelling training sessions) wouldn't allow it. She assigned Santana to take Quinn to the nurse.

Training went on in Quinn and Santana's absence. Kurt got his wish of Coach Sylvester's attention, she dedicated the next fifteen minutes to the part of the routine focused solely on Kurt's aerobatics. He twirled and pirouetted through the air, ensured safety by the man-made safety net of burly male Cheerios who couldn't risk their spot on the school's only winning team by dropping him.

The female Cheerios trained mostly unsupervised while Coach Sylvester spewed out compliment-after-compliment for Kurt. He could do nothing wrong. It didn't take long for him to forget all about Quinn and if she were seriously injured or not. He became high off of Coach Sylvester's praise. This was the praise the others stole from him in Glee. The praise his confused father could never allow to him. He felt invincible, as if all of the humiliating Slushie Facials had never happened.

As he spun through the air he knew nothing bad could happen. It was an incredible feeling. Nothing else in the world mattered. There was a moment where the darker side of his mind broke free and he thought that it was worth Quinn getting injured for him to have his time in the spotlight. For now he was the Head Cheerio and he greedily drank in every second.

When practise finished he was still giddy, his heart fluttering. He barely felt the ground underneath his feet; instead it felt as if he was floating through the air. He didn't think about anything beyond walking to the locker room, he couldn't risk losing this electric feeling by remembering all of the studying waiting for him at home.

His path was blocked by Coach Sylvester and she was wearing her almost-smile, never willing to let anyone see her teeth unless they had a camera pointed at her. "Great job today Porcelain, some worthy competition might keep Q angry and hungry for victory. I like my Cheerios to be angry and hungry."

"Of course, thank you so much Coach." He said.

He was instantly brought down from his cloud when he left the locker room and came face-to-face with Mercedes. She looked unhappy. He knew he should feel guilty but he worked to avoid this from showing on his face. "Mercedes, what're you doing here? It's a little early to be hunting for prom dates."

"Quinn fractured her arm." Mercedes said, void of any humour. "She's with my mom, we're gonna take her back to mine for the night since she's still pretty shaken up. We were about to leave but I figured I should come and let you know, thought you'd wanna know she's okay."

"Well thanks, give her my best." He replied. He didn't waste his time making false promises about meaning to check on Quinn himself, or intending to call her. He doubted Mercedes would believe any of that.

He began to rifle around in his bag, preoccupying him so as to avoid meeting her all-knowing gaze. She remained in the hall for a few minutes, waiting for him to say something. Finally she realized he was staying silent and she gave up. "Okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." He responded.

"Whatever." She huffed.

He shuffled his books around for a few more seconds. Then, upon deciding he was content with the order of his bag, he hooked the strap onto his shoulder and glanced up. It was just in time for him to see Mercedes looking back at him over her shoulder. She had never looked at him in such a way and he felt the first real twinge of guilt.

* * *

><p>Kurt had been doing his best to disappear from Quinn's life. He had been one of her closest friends, he and Mercedes had known her better than anybody. Then the sweet FaceBook messages stopped and he didn't want to spend any time with her. Mercedes had remained an important part of Quinn's life, but she rarely saw Kurt outside of Cheerio practise, wherein he hardly acknowledged her existence.<p>

Quinn knew what the cause of this was. The Cheerios had turned him into a different person and she didn't think she could be friends with such a person. What had started off as determination had developed into rabid and frightening competitiveness. She was just as stubborn and so she always gave back, fighting with every ounce of energy she had.

There were times when she worried neither would surrender. She didn't like having to compete for something she had already earned. Kurt was her friend but she needed the Cheerios and the position of Captain belonged to her. She couldn't let him take the position that was rightfully hers.

She sincerely doubted he would give up without her first having to slaughter him. Mercedes didn't think Kurt's strong will would ever allow him to voluntarily quit. But she thought it was worth a try, to offer him the olive branch before she declared war.

It took a lot of effort for her to gain some one-on-one time with him. He sat alongside Lauren Zizes in Math class and was constantly engrossed in conversations with her, making it impossible for Quinn to talk to him without seeming rude. In Glee Club he would always busy himself with vocal exercises and any time she tried to approach him during Cheerio training he would simply walk away from her.

Finally she decided the only reasonable thing to do was trick him. She told him Brittany had asked for his help in carrying her diorama from Science class down to her car. Like a moth to a flame he came and she had him cornered in the locker room.

His face instantly displayed panic, like a trapped and petrified animal. "What's going on? Where's Brittany? I thought you said she needed my help."

"Yeah, that was a lie." She admitted. "I really need to talk to you and this was the only way I could get you to listen."

He was fidgeting, seemingly unable to meet her eyes. "Okay, what do you wanna talk about?"

She felt there was no reason to beat around the bush. "You need to quit the Cheerios."

His mouth dropped open. "What? Why would I do that?"

"Because you're too good and I need this, I need this so bad." She said.

"Well I need it too." He rebutted.

"You don't need it as badly as I do." She stated, her voice trembling, it hurt to be this vulnerable.

He met and held her eyes, making his next statement all the more powerful. "No matter what you say I'm not quitting."

"Well I guess this means war." She decided.

"I suppose so…" He agreed, collecting his bag and beginning to leave. It wasn't until he reached the door that he spoke again. "Goodbye Quinn."

She didn't turn to look at him, she thought that would make it hurt even more. "Goodbye Kurt." She was surprised she could make any kind of noise with her throat clenched so tightly. For tonight she would mourn. But she knew it was all necessary, she wasn't strong enough to be anything but a Cheerio.

* * *

><p>Kurt wasn't going to give up the Cheerios. He enjoyed it far too much. He had beaten down all of the prejudices to prove himself as an important part of the squad. He intended to stay in Cheerios, to compete again. The feeling after winning Nationals was the most incredible thing he had ever experienced. He loved being a part of a winning team, but not just any part, he was an essential member.<p>

There was no way he was going to give up everything he had worked so hard for. If he had to defeat Quinn to keep it all then so be it. She was his friend but he wasn't going to give up Cheerios for anything. She was the one who had declared war, their friendship had obviously meant little to her. The spotlight was a much better, much more faithful friend anyway.

The way to defeat someone was to know their weakness and exploit this. If Kurt had been trying to run Santana off it would be all too simple – he'd get to her through Brittany. But Quinn was a little more difficult. She was too closed off to have anyone serve as her Achilles Heel. Due to how much time they had spent together over the summer Kurt had learnt what the most important thing was to Quinn. Her image. She had never admitted it aloud, but through silent observation it had become painfully obvious to Kurt.

To expose this chink in the future prom queen's armour Kurt went to Lauren Zizes for help. They had been placed together as science partners and this had allowed Kurt to discover that there wasn't much about the school Lauren didn't know. The AV Club and Wrestling Team weren't the only clubs she belonged to; Kurt was often astounded by how she kept up with so many clubs.

Through her expansive knowledge of the school he found out about Coach Sylvester's master key. Not only did Lauren know about the key, she also knew how to gain access to it. Their plan began with sneaking into Coach Sylvester's office at a time when they knew she would be out in the school, terrorizing students and teachers.

Lauren was happy to help but she had one condition.

"You want me to kiss you?" He asked, unable to digest the shock.

"That's right." She said, her mouth half pulled up in the very familiar devious smile. "I like the look of them lady-lips and I wanna see if they taste as good as they look. Not in any kind of pervy way, I just like the idea of my first kiss being with a gay guy."

Simply considering the idea felt weird on his skin. He needed her help and he trusted her not to tell the whole school. She was a reasonable girl and he thought if they made a deal she would honour it. But did he really want to kiss her? He wanted to defeat Quinn, it all came down to whether he thought kissing Lauren was too high a price to pay.

"It's your choice Slick." She stated. "You can kiss me and then we'll get to work bringing the hurt to Princess Popularity, or you can keep your dignity and walk away and _try_to make this work without me, which it totally won't."

He looked down at his expensive and perfectly cleaned sneakers. He needed to do this. He needed to show Quinn that he wasn't going down without a fight. She needed to know that she had declared war against the wrong person. But to do all of this he needed Lauren's help.

Drawing in a deep breath he looked up to where Lauren was waiting. He supposed it was worth it. It was _only one kiss_. It wasn't like _one_kiss with Lauren was a big deal. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Lauren had removed her glasses and was watching his progress with curious eyes. He shuffled closer, his chest tight in anticipation. He counted himself lucky that her breath did not smell too appalling.

He shuffled closer and closer until he could move no further. He began to crane his neck forward. Finally their lips met, without flourish or fanfare. It was as unimportant as two hands meeting to formally shake. He had never kissed anyone. During his 'relationship' with Brittany she had always initiated every kiss, leaving him in awe of the ways of her wicked tongue.

Standing with his lips pressed chastely against hers felt like a cheat. This was her first kiss and he was making it so boring. She deserved better. In the heat of the moment he put his hands on either side of her face and deepened the kiss. He scraped his tongue along the roof of her mouth before pulling away completely.

She stumbled back a few paces, her eyes fluttered shut before popping open wide a few moments later. He was surprised by how repulsive he had found the sensation. Not because of Lauren, she was a lovely girl and he respected her. It was because the kiss didn't mean anything. It was her first kiss and it hadn't been for her, instead it was all a part of his revenge games.

But she seemed satisfied. "I think I'm gonna have to sit down for a bit. You hit me with surprise attack with the tongue at the end."

He needed to get out of this situation. He couldn't linger while he felt so dirty and cruel. "No, we need to get to work."

* * *

><p>Quinn knew it was no accident when Lauren Zizes spilt paint on her during art class. She made a big production of it being an accident; she waved her arms around and loudly proclaimed her clumsiness. Quinn's uniform was soaked in blue paint. Lauren apologized and tried to help Quinn sop up the paint. But Quinn refused her help. Lauren and Kurt had been spending a lot of time hanging around each other as of late and Quinn couldn't ignore how forced Lauren's apologies sounded or the less-than-stifled smirk on Kurt's face.<p>

She pushed away from the table, going over to the sink to clean herself off. This didn't help; instead she was spreading the colour. At any other point of the day she could have rushed home and collected a clean uniform from her closet. That wasn't possible now and she thought Lauren knew this. She was forced to stay in the ruined uniform until the end of this period.

Cheerio practise followed immediately after art class. She held her book binder in front of the stain as she made her way toward the locker room. There was a spare uniform hanging in her locker and she dove for it instantly. She wasn't completely surprised when it didn't fit, despite the fact that it had always been the right size before today.

The skirt had magically become shorter. It was now more of a belt than a skirt and it was so tight she could barely move her thighs two inches apart. The shirt was at least two sizes too small. Half of her midriff was on display and there was no pulling it down. Instantly she knew this was Kurt's doing.

She had no choice but to walk out onto the football field with the other Cheerios. She had never had so much of her body on display outside of a pool party. It made her deeply uncomfortable because she wasn't Santana. She had to push through her insecurities because she couldn't risk missing a training session while she was still trying to get back on Coach Sylvester's good side.

Coach Sylvester was a strong believer in good presentation (Quinn supposed this was where she had gotten her obsession for perfection from) and she refused to let Quinn train in her 'joke of a uniform'. Not even for a second. Quinn didn't bother making excuses because she knew that when Coach Sylvester had her mind made up nothing could be said to change it.

There was nothing Quinn could say or do. She was dismissed from the training session and forced to go home. This was supposed to be her second practise back since her arm had recovered; instead she was going home to wash the paint out of her uniform. Her chances of returning to Head Cheerio seemed to be lessening.

She was humiliated. But she knew this was exactly what Kurt wanted and so she held her head high. Before leaving the field completely she glanced back and locked her eyes on Kurt. She made sure Kurt met her gaze before turning her attention back to where she was headed. She strutted off of the field with a disgusting amount of her legs on display.

* * *

><p>Seeing that Kurt was as serious as she was about staying on the Cheerios meant the end of their friendship for Quinn. She hardly shed a tear over this. She needed Cheerios to salvage her reputation to help her win Prom Queen. Once she was Prom Queen everything would be back to normal and Lucy Caboosey would be gone forever.<p>

She wasn't going to let Kurt get in the way of her dreams. She supposed this was an important lesson for her to learn. If she wanted to be a leader then she had to pick friends weaker than herself, she had to pick people who would fall into line behind her without question.

Kurt was the first person to ever really challenge her. Luckily for her, her time at the bottom of the pecking order had given her a glimpse of what it was like to be him. This meant she knew exactly which buttons to push.

She went to Puck for help. Not only because he had a proven track record in bad-ass-ness. But because as much as she tried to deny it they had spent a lot of time together during the pregnancy and they had gotten to know one another well. He was the only one who had ever gotten close to knowing the real Quinn. She knew he would understand her need to regain the position of Head Cheerio. He understood the power of popularity, just like her, they were cut from the same cloth.

"I'll help you take the gay kid down, but first you gotta do something for me." He said.

Quinn told herself it would all be worth it when she had the tiara resting on top of her head. There were salty tears stinging her eyes as she knelt with her face buried in Puck's crotch. It would all be worth it to get the crown. Once she had the tiara all of the bad things would be washed away: Lucy Caboosey, the pregnancy and this dirty act, it would all be washed away. Then she would be pure, The Pure Prom Queen and nothing else would matter.

* * *

><p>The Cheerios first pep rally of the year was a big deal. As usual Coach Sylvester pulled all of her malicious tricks to ensure the whole school was there. This was her first test of the dynamics of the Cheerios for the new year. This was to be their first performance since bringing in new members and Coach Sylvester searched twice as hard for mistakes.<p>

But it wasn't this which made Kurt nervous. He knew the routine better than he knew the back of his own hand. He felt he could perform it and out-shine the rest of the squad in his sleep. The pep rally itself gave him no worries.

Instead it was Quinn causing him to lose sleep. She had not retaliated yet. Three weeks had passed and absolutely nothing had happened to him in that time. He gained little comfort from the thought that perhaps she had already tried to sabotage him and failed miserably. There was no way Quinn would give up that easily. She had to be planning something and Kurt couldn't possibly prepare himself. Quinn was a deviously clever girl and Kurt found he was frightened of her.

He couldn't remember the last time he had slept through the night. Usually he would be so exhausted after the school day that he could barely keep his eyes open during the concluding stages of his night-time skincare ritual. Now he found himself lying down, feeling wide awake as his mind ticked over endlessly.

There was no silencing the thoughts racing through his mind. They chased each other around in a horrible loop. He was in fear of what Quinn would do, how she would strike next. He had no idea of what she was going to do and this petrified him. He lay awake, searching his mind of how he would strike back after her attack. His heart would begin to pound and sweat sprung up on his forehead. He could barely sleep with the cloud of worry pressing down on his chest.

He stood in the green room, stretching his limbs along with the other Cheerios. Quinn was nowhere to be seen: he didn't know if this should concern him or not. He could hear Principal Figgins addressing the school outside of the room. His hands were shaking as he tried to keep his breathing even.

Quinn joined the squad as they made their way onto the basketball court. She was on the opposite side of the group to him and he was glad for this. They fell into formation with the lights dimmed to increase the anticipation. He spotted Mercedes sitting alongside Mike and Tina in the stands. Her eyes were fixed on him and when she saw him looking she smiled slightly. He couldn't look at her for long; it hurt him to see the disappointment in her eyes. Especially because he knew he deserved it.

The lights kicked on and the performance began. It moved by so quickly. He felt like he took the first step, then blinked and found himself completing the final tumble all of a sudden. Had he breathed at all during the performance? The male Cheerios caught him and set him down on the ground. He stepped forward, moving into his final pose.

He stuck his chin in the air and locked his arms into place. The last beat of the song sounded throughout the hall and then there was silence. There was a second in between the end of the song and before the applause could start. But the applause never began.

Everything moved in slow motion. It began with a gasp of horror from someone in the stands. Sets of people's heads began to tilt up, with jaws slackening. Following this Kurt started to look up as well. He had just finished turning his face skyward when he was slapped with icy-cold wetness. A thousand icy needles were piercing their way into his pores.

His mouth dropped open as he struggled to fathom what had just happened. Uncertainly he moved his head, looking down at himself. He was covered with a blue, clumpy liquid. It ran off of him in rivers and still his skin was stained. It was instantly recognizable.

It was a Slushie Facial. Except much worse, it was an all-over Slushie Spa Treatment. His chest was constricted in shock as he began to tremble all over. The first laugh came from Quinn. By the time he had turned his head to her the laughter had spread. He whipped around to see that everyone was laughing. The sound echoed in his head, taunting him.

Finally he regained control of his body. He turned toward the exit and attempted to run. But the ground was so wet and instantly he slipped, slamming into the cold ground. This caused the laughter to heighten. He clamoured to his feet and scurried away.

He couldn't hold the sobs in, as much as he wanted to; the sobs escaped him before he managed to leave the stadium. They ripped through his chest, growing more powerful with each step that he took.

Somehow he had reached the boys locker room. His speed dropped dramatically, he dragged his feet along as if the muscles had been replaced by lead. He slouched his way over to the mirror to inspect the damage. He looked like a Smurf. He had always hated The Smurfs as a child.

He heaved in one final breath and gave himself a stern look in the eyes. He decided that crying would accomplish nothing; this was exactly what Quinn wanted. He considered this to be rock bottom and now all he could do was pick himself up off of the ground. He gathered together a handful of paper towels and began to blot away the wetness.

He wasn't alone for very long, soon Mercedes and Tina came bursting through the door. He showed them a weak smile. "Did the routine look good at least?"

"It looked amazing." Tina said.

Mercedes gathered him up in her arms. "Don't worry honey; we'll take care of everything. Let's get this bubble-gum smell out of your hair. Do you think it'd be okay for me to touch your hair?"

"Considering the conditions I think I can make an exception to the rule." He said.

With his neck resting against the lip of the basin Mercedes rubbed shampoo through his hair tenderly. Tina had left for the administration office to organize for him to be dismissed from the rest of the day and ensured his father was contacted.

Artie, Finn, Mike and Rachel all came to see how he was coping. Mr Schuester was there to show him a sympathetic smile and clap him encouragingly on the shoulder. He stayed strong in front of them, thanking them for their time and showing them a brave smile.

They left and Kurt changed out of the uniform. He dropped it into the bin. There was a weight instantly released from his chest when he stepped into clothes from his wardrobe. He adjusted his striped bowtie and released a breath of great relief. He felt as if he were returning home after a long and exhausting journey.

He stepped around the corner where Mercedes was waiting. As soon as she saw him her face lit up in a genuine smile. "Much better."

He went over and collected both of her hands. He sighed deeply, when he began speaking it was much easier to look at the hands rather than her. "I'm thinking I need to quit Cheerios."

"Okay." She said, appraising him with supportive eyes.

"It's changed me and not in a good way." He continued. "I can barely look at myself in the mirror, I'm sick with worry and I've been pushing you away." Finally he looked up to meet her eyes. "I've made a lot of mistakes and now I want to start correcting them. I've learnt a lot about myself and this isn't who I want to be."

"I'm really glad to hear you say that." She told him.

"Thanks." He said, his voice breaking slightly. "I can't believe you're still here. I got so crazy, I treated you so terribly, I was the biggest jerk."

"Because I had faith that you'd wake up and now that you have we can go home and watch Audrey Hepburn movies." She informed him.

"Just what the doctor ordered." He agreed, linking his arm with hers. Already his spirits were higher than they had been when watching Quinn fail.

Kurt Hummel would never forget that day. It was the day Quinn Fabray changed his life forever by waking him up out of his competitive daze. He would never be friends with her again but he was thankful to her for reminding him that sometimes it was alright to be himself, only human, rather than a heartless winning machine.

The End.


End file.
